KOSPI May Add To Monday's Gains

(RTTNews) - The South Korea stock market on Monday snapped the two-day slide in which it had stumbled more than 135 points or 3.9 percent. The KOSPI now sits just shy of the 3,150-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is positive on bargain hunting and optimism for an interest rate cut. The European and U.S. markets were sharply higher and the Asian bourses figure to follow that lead.

The KOSPI finished modestly higher on Monday thanks to bargain hunting among the financials, technology stocks and automobile producers, while the chemical companies were soft.

For the day, the index advanced 28.34 points or 0.91 percent to finish at 3,147.75. Volume was 291 million shares worth 9.66 trillion won. There were 677 gainers and 209 decliners.

Among the actives, Shinhan Financial strengthened 1.23 percent, while KB Financial collected 2.26 percent, Hana Financial perked 0.12 percent, Samsung Electronics climbed 1.16 percent, Samsung SDI jumped 1.95 percent, LG Electronics improved 1.74 percent, Naver rallied 3.11 percent, LG Chem shed 0.48 percent, Lotte Chemical rose 0.31 percent, SK Innovation increased 1.37 percent, POSCO Holdings dipped 0.17 percent, SK Telecom advanced 1.26 percent, KEPCO spiked 2.90 percent, Hyundai Mobis added 0.53 percent, Hyundai Motor gained 0.48 percent, Kia Motors accelerated 1.98 percent and SK Hynix was unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is strong as the major averages opened solidly higher on Monday and closed in similar fashion, cutting into Friday's steep losses.

The Dow jumped 585.06 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 44,173.64, while the NASDAQ rallied 403.45 points or 1.95 percent to end at 21,053.58 and the S&P 500 gained 91.93 points or 1.47 percent to close at 6,329.94.

The rally on Wall Street came as traders looked to pick up stocks at reduced levels following the recent sell-off, which saw the NASDAQ and the S&P 500 pull back well off their record highs.

The steep drop last Friday came amid concerns about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's new tariffs, weaker than expected jobs data and a slump by shares of Amazon (AMZN).

Optimism the weak jobs data will lead the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates next month also contributed to the buying interest. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the chances of a quarter point rate cut in September have jumped to 91.9 percent from 63.1 percent a week ago.

Crude oil continued to decline on Monday thanks to oversupply concerns and fears of a tariff-induced slowdown by the global economy. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was down $1.06 or 1.57 percent at $66.27 per barrel.

Closer to home, South Korea will see July data for consumer prices later this morning, with forecasts suggesting an increase of 0.2 percent on month and 2.1 percent on year. That follows the flat monthly reading and the 2.2 percent yearly increase in June.